Physical Description

Summary

The Abner Doble Papers, 1885-1963, consist of correspondence, drawings, reports, patents, and notebooks documenting his role in the development of twentieth century steam technology. The collection also includes papers relating to his family, several of whom were engineers and inventors, including his grandfather and namesake Abner Doble, his father William Ashton Doble, and his brother Warren Doble. Materials include drawings and engineering notebooks for Doble's early automotive designs, as well as records of the Doble Steam Motors factory in Emeryville, California where Doble and his brothers manufactured what are still considered to be among the finest steam cars ever made. Also included are papers relating to Doble's career as consultant to several firms in the U.S., Europe, and New Zealand where he worked on the development of steam trucks, buses and locomotives. The collection also includes records of Doble's consulting work in the early 1950's for the Paxton Engineering Division of McCulloch Motors Corporation, Los Angeles, to develop the Paxton Phoenix, a steam car fitted with the Doble Ultimax engine. Family papers include materials relating to the Abner Doble Company, San Francisco, and Doble's father William Ashton Doble, inventor of the Doble-Pelton Water Wheel. This collection includes the Doble Family Papers, 1912-1960, C-B 827, which were integrated with the Abner Doble Papers in 2002.